Hand In Hand To Hell
by Spartacus1997
Summary: Iszy graces the stage with her family in the band Sixty Second Countdown. At one gig she meets her hero, the big time band Hand In Hand To Hell but she is heartbroken to find out that their lead, Alex Winchester, is an asshole. The hate is mutual. But they find their lives get complicated as their paths cross more times than usual. One more problem: they are soulfinders.
1. Sing Those Crappy Songs

**Hi guys!**

**So, I'm back!**

**Thanks for all waiting, i was just taking a little break from writing so i could calm down from Snatching Sarah. I'm so glad you all liked it, i liked the ending but i grew to hate it while it was going.**

**I was being bugged about this as school so here it is. Thanks go to SarahD for giving inspiration for the (slightly modified) character of Sarah and to MeganW for the (again slightly modified) character of Megan.**

**This is the new one. It is about Iszy Benedict, Kate and Will's baby from Helping Kate. If you haven't read that one i would recommend it so you know slightly who the people are.**

**But, just in case.**

**Iszy was born at the end of Helping Kate. She has two older cousins called Magnus and Nico who can teleport. They are Diamond and Trace's kids, who are now in college. Iszy can shape shift into inanimate objects.**

**She has two younger siblings. Jacob who is in college and we probably wont see much of, and Kay who features heavily.**

**Hope you like it, it is a tie with Pride and Prejudice so look out for similarities.**

* * *

"Maybe it's the way she walked,

Straight into my heart and stole it!"

The song was playing in the background of the steamy college bathroom as I leant closer to the mirror and slicked my eyelashes one shade darker with my mega mascara.

Good song this one. My guilty pleasure, One Direction and their fanfiction. One of those things that you only tell a select group of your friends because the others will roll their eyes at you and sigh.

Fuck them all, I yelled the words and danced around in my low slung jeans and blue vest.

"Through the doors and past the guards,

Just like she already owned it!"

The blood red lipstick made an appearance and I blew a kiss at my reflection, acting the shallow beauty queen while no one was looking.

"I said can you give it back to me,

She said never in your wildest dreams."

There was a hammering on the door and I jumped.

"Iszy! Hurry up! You've been in there for ages and you are playing crappy music to top it all off!" My cousin Magnus yelled through and hammered harder to prove a point.

I pulled open the door and he coughed as a wave of steam rolled over him. "It's my damn college room, I should get a say in what music is played."

I grabbed my towel and spread it over the back of a dining chair, drying it out. "Quality stuff this, M."

He growled and paused my iPod. "I couldn't think of anything more crappy if I tried."

I grinned at him. "I could."

He looked up, slightly worried. "What?"

I laughed and ran over to the keyboard in the corner of the room.

"Just tell me! I won't have our band's keyboard being used for crap music."

I played a well-known chord and grinned at him.

_Dun, dundun_

"Oh ohwoooah! _Dundun_

"Ohohwoahoo! _Dundun._

"Oh shit." Magnus slumped down on his fraying sofa next to his comatose twin Nico.

I laughed and broke into song.

"You know you love me,

I now you care,

Just shout whenever,

And I'll be there."

Nico jerked awake and wiped a trail of saliva off his chin. "Iszy! If you're going to play, play something decent, or not at all. Some of us have hangovers!"

I flicked the off switch and Justin Bieber died. "Last night really didn't agree with someone."

Magnus grinned down at his identical twin. "Jules dumped him, so he got trashed as is now suffering for it."

Nico threw his arm over his eyes. "She was a bitch anyway. Just wanted a piece of the band. Gold digging whore."

I snorted. "Gold digging? Tell me Nick, how much money has the band brought us over the last year?"

He held up his free hand in a surrendering gesture. "It's been good! We've done loads of gigs and actually have a fan base."

I nodded slowly and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the table, courtesy of Aunty Diamond. "True. You know there's actually fanfic about us."

Magnus looked up. "You're joking?"

I shook my head and bit into the apple, feeling grateful for the worry Diamond feels about her little college boys keeping healthy. "Yup, though most of it involves a load of threesome sex between us and Kay acting like a slut with everyone she meets."

Magnus made a face. "So, kinda accurate then with her."

I nodded. My little sister had wormed her way into our band with her pretty face and a bit of flirting here and there. "Well, she has yet to act like a proper hooker, I guess it helps that our manager is a girl."

Magnus nodded. "I swear she's like nineteen."

I nodded. "Yup, still a baby in my opinion."

He laughed. "Yeah, but you're like twenty one. It's worse for us, we remember when Kay was born. It was intense, I swear your mum makes a habit of giving birth in public. You at that New Year reunion, Jacob while we were all on holiday in England and Kay in the middle of that museum."

Nico disappeared suddenly from the couch and we could hear him retching in the toilet. He generally put his teleporting powers to skill in these situations, wanting to keep the band's vibe generally non-savant for the good of the public. They probably wouldn't take kindly to their favourite band turning out to be superheroes.

"How's the new poster going?" I asked, throwing my apple core at the bin, it bounced off the rim and I grabbed it with my mind before it hit the vinyl floor. The cleaner hated us already, mainly because I didn't go to college but just lived here 'undercover' and she was convinced there was a lot of three-way incestuous sex going on every night. Wouldn't be good to add fruit mess to the floor.

Magnus pulled a tube of white paper from behind the sofa and came over to me, unrolling out on the table. "Done, we've put them out on campus and around Denver. I like them."

I pushed a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear and chewed my lip. It was weird seeing myself on our posters. Sure, I was doing something I loved but it was odd now that we had a fan base big enough to actually sell in our gigs. We weren't just doing back up for other bands now. We had _other bands_ doing back up for _us,_ it was great.

_Sixty Second Countdown!_

The poster was acidic yellow with our black army script band name stuck on diagonal. It was promoting our latest gig and our new album.

_Your Own Bloody Fault! _

_Written and performed by Iszy, Magnus, Nico and Kay Benedict!_

It had a list of dates at the bottom. I saw the last one and gasped.

"We're going to _New York_?!"

Magnus was grinning and looking at my reaction. "I knew you'd love that."

I threw my arms around his neck and he swung me round. "This is the best life _ever_!" I yelled.

He laughed. "Cool isn't it? We are actually getting to the big times."

I snorted. "Piece of cake."

Nico appeared back at my side, his dark hair sticking to his forehead and his skin looking green. "You told her about New York?" He looked cross. "I wanted to film her reaction."

I gathered them both into my arms. "This is the best fucking family in the whole fucking world."

Nico chuckled. "Calm down Iz. What would Gran say about your swearing?"

I let them go and laughed, feeling on top of the world. "She wouldn't care, she'd probably swear along with me if she knew her babies were conquering the world."

Magnus wandered over to the drum set and twirled the sticks between his fingers. "We should probably practice, we've got shit to do."

Nico grabbed his guitar and plugged it into the amp. "We don't have Kay."

"Yes we frickin do!" The door crashed open and a blonde bombshell with highlights and fake eyelashes fell into the room. "That was the best night _ever_! The gig was _awesome_! There were _so_ many people! And Iz, I swear I met the _sweetest_ guy ever, you _have_ to meet him, I am _so_ gonna hook you two up, it would be _perfect_! You just wait, I bet you my Chanel handbag that I will get you married by the end of the tour."

I sighed. "Kay, I don't want a husband, I'm only twenty one, I have the rest of my life to go."

She staggered towards us, grasping a can of Red Bull. "We'll see about that. I am _so_ on the hunt for a man already. And I'm going to find girlfriends for _you _two as well." She waved her fake nails at Nico and Magnus. M sighed and Nick covered his ears.

"Right, that's it, I can't practice like this, unlike _someone_ I know I get drunk off actual alcohol, not that crap you're drinking." He staggered towards his bedroom and pulled the door closed.

Kay giggled. "I'm going to see Roberto."

I raised an eyebrow. "Roberto, seriously? You went through all the college guys in three weeks so now you're onto the exchange students?"

She blushed, an art she'd perfected in front of the mirror. "He's so cute. And he's filthy rich so that's always a plus."

She flicked her hair as she twirled around and pulled the door too behind her.

I sighed and looked over at Magnus who shook his head.

"Iz, we are the only sane people in this band."

I nodded and picked up my guitar, "Yup, but we can look after the other two. And it's only us who can find our other halves. And maybe touring will help. Who knows, you could find Miss Soulfinder in New York."

He grinned. "Possible little cousin of mine. Now, we really need to practice and as much as I would love to fantasise about soulfinders, I don't think that would help the album."

I smiled at him and together we started to play.

* * *

**Hope you liked it,**

**Please leave a review telling me what you think. i love reading them and they never get old.**

**Updates will happen but i cant tell you when. I have school and GCSE's so they may be a bit scattered.**

**See you soon!**


	2. Manic Planning

**Hi Guys!**

**So, i'm really glad you liked the last chapter. This one is kind of a massive thing so i may have a few meltdowns in the middle of it all.**

**Lots of these characters are based on people i know so that adds a bit of complication. Also, you may see some reviews saying, oh my god i love me, or whatever form friends who are written into it.**

**Thanks go to MagnusC, IszyP, RoseM for characters. You have been done as accurately as possible but may have been modified to suit the story.**

**Hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

"Give me a second,

I need to get my story straight,

My friends are in the bathroom

Getting higher than the empire state." I was singing quietly, avoiding the cleaner's eyes, painting my nails and waiting for Olivia and Rose to come round.

Olivia Lucas was our manager. She was the admin part of the team, always panicking about transport and sound and money. She was kinda prim, very classy and just the right degree away from being a snob. Nico had a crush on her but she was more into English guys who went to Oxford and could stay up all night arguing about The Tempest and Charles Dickens. Nick didn't have a chance in a million.

I added another cartoon character to my jeans, digging the biro into the seams, trying to get the definition of Wolverine's jaw. The cleaner sniffed loudly and glared at the mess I was making on my tattered trousers.

Rose Tennant was the other third of our threesome. She was the definition of cool. People turned to look when she walked into the room. It was her hair mainly, a rainbow of colour. Red chopped up hair with blue tips and black streaks. She had awesome fashion sense. She wore scruffy green trench coats and boots, and collected band bracelets. Her wrists were covered in them. It was her diary, of the things we'd done and places Liv had taken us.

Magnus and Nico pulled open the door and the cleaner sighed something to herself in Chinese, grabbed her bag and pulled the hoover behind her as she barged past them. Nico looked embarrassed and flattened himself against the wall, giving her enough room. It was slightly tense between those two. Unsurprisingly, seeing as he did sleep with her daughter and she had to kick him out.

Magnus tutted. "Liv and Rose not here yet?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Just got a text from Rose though, they're on their way. Apparently Liv's panicking about New York already so we need to get the tea ready and keep Nico away from her or she'll rip his head off."

He nodded and we saw Nico sighing dramatically.

"Have we got a gig any time soon?" I asked, finally perfecting Wolverine's eyebrows.

Magnus shot me a look. "You could check the schedule you know, it is right here, pasted to the wall in front of your very eyes. You wouldn't even have to move to see it."

I rolled my eyes. "You're closer."

He sighed. "We have a gig on Monday, that's three days away, just in case your lack of social interaction has made you forget. Then we have another the week after. But we are going to Charlie's show on Saturday. His band is playing and we have to be there."

I sat up straight, "Charlie's band?!"

He nodded.

"You mean, your best friend Charlie's band?"

He nodded again.

I squealed. "Oh my god! It's Hand In Hand To Hell!"

Magnus flopped down on the sofa. "Your obsession with them is unhealthy."

"No its not! They are phenomenal! Have you heard them?!"

He shrugged. "Well, I'll admit they're good, but not that good. Sure, Charlie can really play and the singer's ok but from what I've heard he's a total asshole."

My jaw dropped, "Oh no you didn't. Alex Winchester is perfect. Ok, fine, just never expect me to talk to you again."

He opened his mouth to say something but the door crashed open and Olivia walked into the room with Rose and they both dumped armfuls of bags on the floor. "Ok, calm down, I'm here!"

Magnus got up to put the kettle on and Nico started glancing at her and puffing out his chest. Rose smirked at his attempts and got fiddling with her bracelets.

"Tea?" Magnus was juggling mugs and tea bags.

"Yes please!" Liv sat next to me and opened her laptop, the screen flashing up to show me a list of dates and venues. "Are you free from here to here?" She pointed to a week in the not so distant future.

I shrugged. "Possibly, I might just let you plan my life for me."

Rose sat next to Liv and surveyed the calendar. "That would be a good week to have a gig, there'll be a lot of people around with nothing to do. It's fresher's week so they'll all want to go to a party or show or whatever. Just a thought."

Liv nodded and started typing manically. "Ok, I'm going to chat to the guy in charge of that venue and see if there's a free day. We need to get you in there before the tour starts."

Magnus came over and handed out teas. I took mine and wrapped my hands around it, warming them and trying to focus on what Liv was saying.

"Rose, who else will be playing around then?" Liv was looking at our friend with one eye and tucking her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.

Rose shrugged and looked disinterested. "Hand In Hand To Hell are up in Saturday, then some lame band that no one's heard of on Sunday morning, but no one will go because they'll all be hung over and no one goes to gigs in the morning anyway."

Liv nodded. "Ok, we can do something earlier. Possibly Friday, we all want to go to Hand In Hand To Hell. I need to meet their manager, I think she's called Gemma Green or something. And we all want to see Charlie."

I started biting my nails. We hadn't planned for this new gig at all. I started running through all our songs in my head, wondering which would be the best to do. The thought of my outfit came into mind too. As one of the girls there was more time spent on what I wore and what Kay wore.

Liv looked up, sensing my uncertainty with her scary Savant powers. "Songs? I was thinking about putting a couple from your new album in there. Then one of your old ones and you can each choose one of your favourite to do."

I nodded. "Ok, can we do _I Said So_, _Tween Feelings_ and _Your Own Bloody Fault_? I like those ones. But apart from that I don't mind."

Liv gulped her tea and started typing again. "Can do. Rose, any suggestions?"

Rose shrugged. Her shoulders hunched in her trench coat. "It might be good to lay off the slower songs until the evening. It's fresher's week so they'll want fun, upbeat stuff. Leave the sad ones until everyone's either gone home or is so drunk they'll dance to anything."

Magnus laughed. "Tell it how it is Rose."

Nico looked over the top of the computer and scrunched his eyebrows. "I may have classes that day so I'll get back to you on the timings for them."

Liv glanced up at him looking disbelieving. "You're actually going to classes now?"

He nodded proudly. "Yeah, you pleased?"

Rose laughed. "Keep trying Nick."

He sat back down, disappointed.

I smiled. "Good, are we all going to Hand In Hand To Hell?"

They looked at me. I put my hands together, pleading. I loved them, they were my heroes. I wanted to either be them, or marry them, preferably both.

Liv sighed. "I'm going. Rose?"

Rose nodded. "Might as well. I want to see if their actually as shit as some people say."

I clapped my hands and hugged them. "Thank you! I love you!"

Liv sighed and waved me away. "Off you go, take Rose and find something nice and not too slutty to wear for your next gig. But I veto the black spotty jeans and jumper with elbow patches. The comic strip belt can make an appearance if it has to."

* * *

**Please tell me if you like it. I really want to know.**

**See you soon!**

**XX**


	3. Hero Worship

**Hi Guys!**

**So, the wait between this and the last chapter seems to me to be ages but I think I was only a week. That was wierd. **

**I've had a few reviews from friends of mine who feature in the story but not many from any one else. I know I badger too much for reviews but, honestly, I panic without them. I start to worry if the story is too boring or if no one likes it. I had so many lovely fans of Snatching Sarah and Helping Kate (I dont like to associate myself with Thinking of Marian) that I really want to know what you think of this one too. I get that there are none of the real characters in this one but Will is going to feature later on. Remember he is Iszy's dad.**

**So, please drop me a review, even if its just one word, it would calm me down a lot.**

**Hope you like this one.**

* * *

The music was pounding out of the doors and the windows were rattling by the time we got to the music hall. I was bouncing with excitement, the day was here! Hand In Hand To Hell were playing right now, only thirty metres away from us.

I spun around to face Olivia. "Do I look ok?" I asked feverishly. I'd spent more time than usual but was still unhappy with my red long sleeved top and black skater skirt. And even if I had loved them before, the biker boots looked bulky now.

Liv laughed. "You look fine, stop worrying; no one's going to care what you look like."

I played at being offended. "You mean Alex Winchester isn't going to see me and sweep me off my feet to some massive house in paradise?"

Liv scrunched her nose up and shook her head. "Doubt it." Despite my obvious obsession with Hand In Hand To Hell and especially their lead singer Alex Winchester, according to Olivia my dreams were ridiculous.

I sighed dramatically. "Well, that was an anti-climax if ever I hear one."

Magnus looked over his shoulder from where he was standing by the door. "Guys, hurry up, I don't want to miss their last song."

Olivia and I dutifully walked a bit faster and got there in time for the bouncer to check our ID's and wave us through with a bored look on his face.

There were people everywhere, swarming around the bar and the mosh pit at the front. I immediately went up on my toes to look at the stage but the lights were flashing too much to see anything other than their outlines.

I heard the deep, smoky voice of Alex Winchester singing my favourite of their songs and I nearly swooned then and there.

Please God, if I can actually talk to the owner of that voice I will die happy.

Liv grabbed my elbow to stop me collapsing, "Let's get closer, then we can actually see them." She yelled in my ear, the music and screaming too loud to be heard.

I nodded and let her pull me over to the other side of the room, where the lights parted for audience appreciation. We stood at the top of the stairs down into the pit and let the music seep into us.

_3 pm, on my feet and staggering,_

_Through misplaced words and a sinking feeling,_

_I got carried away._

Alex's beautiful face was close to the microphone as he sang the words like they meant something to him. I gaped and Liv winced when my fingers dug into her arm.

"We have to get closer!" I yelled and pulled her down the stairs. I heard Magnus and Nico yelling after us that they were going to the bar but I ignored them, who cared about the bar when there were gods on earth standing a few metres away from us.

Liv and I jumped into the mosh pit and fought our way past drunk guys and drunk girls, young and old, to stand at the front and scream the words along with them.

Hand In Hand To Hell were playing two metres away from me.

I was stuck in between drooling and wetting myself, neither of which would have been very attractive.

I jumped around and waved my arms in the air, singing at the top of my lungs.

_Sick, sick of sleeping on the floor,_

_Another night, another score,_

_I'm jaded, bottles breaking._

Alex Winchester was standing directly in front of me, singing his heart out into the microphone. His forehead was glistening with sweat from the performance and his black hair was slicked back out of his bright blue eyes. His fingers were flying over the strings of his red electric guitar and he wasn't even looking as he strummed some of the hardest chords in the book. I was in love.

_You're only happy when I'm wasted,_

_I point my finger but I just can't place it,_

_Feels like I'm falling in love_

_When I'm falling to the bathroom floor._

I reluctantly let my eyes wander to the rest of the band. Alex was the one who's appearance and performance demanded attention but he wasn't the only one up there. Behind him was the drummer of the band, having the time of his life and beating the shit out of the drum set in front of him. I didn't know much about him. I think his name was Dave, but I could be wrong. He was older than the other two, a friend of a friend according to Charlie.

Charlie was standing to the side of Alex, and he looked like he was loving every minute of it. Magnus and Nico knew him from High School so we were friends and he was part of the reason we were here. He was shorted than Alex, who could be called a giant. His hair was kind of sandy brown, flyaway and he kept flicking it out of his eyes. He was slightly wiry and his brown eyes were sparkling with the excitement of the whole event. He was only singing the back-up stuff but I could see he was perfectly happy giving the attention to Alex and staying in the back ground.

_I remember how you tasted,_

_I've had you so many times, let's face it,_

_Feels like I'm falling in love alone,_

_Stella won't you take me home._

"Stella won't you take me home!" I sang with him and Charlie looked down at me.

His grin widened and he waved, taking his hands off the guitar briefly. I waved back and he glanced towards the bar.

_Iszy!_ His voice sounded in my head. _How you doing?_

I grinned back. _I'm good Charlie, this is awesome!_

Another reason why Charlie was our friend. We found out he was a savant and just clicked from then on in. Tight friends.

_Thanks_, his voice got slightly quieter as he concentrated on a harder combination of chords. _Glad you came, who's here?_

I saw Alex look over at Charlie and frown, glancing down at me. I looked away, not wanting my undivided stare at Charlie to raise suspicion. _Mag and Nick are here. And Liv. She wants to talk to your manager, and our friend Rose is coming later._

He smiled at Alex and looked back down at his guitar. _Awesome, I'll see you later, Alex is about to get confused._

I nodded and carried on dancing, revelling in the music. It filled me up, the beat ricocheting around my body and making my feet hurt from the thump of the floor.

I made the mistake of looking back up at Alex and he shot me a suspicious look. I smiled in pure admiration but he looked away, back out at the performer's sweet spot. That space on the back wall that you can stare at if you want to seem like you're still performing to an audience but where you don't have to actually look at any one. Trust me, I've stared at that spot many a time.

It was insane being here, it wasn't even a massive venue or band. They had a fan base but it was only a bit bigger than ours. But they were my _heroes_. I knew the words to every one of their songs. And being here, two metres away from the man I fan girled about so much that Rose and Liv told me to shut up, was incredible.

I was in heaven.

* * *

**Two guesses who Alex is going to be?**

**That song that they were singing is called Stella by All Time Low. I listened to Nothing Personal and fell in love so lots of songs on that album will feature. Just pretend that Hand In Hand To Hell wrote them.**

**All Time Low get all the credit though.**

**Remember, please review, it will take two seconds.**

**See you possibly tomorrow.**

**XXX**


	4. First Impressions

**Hi Guys!**

**I know, two chapter in two days! And, if I'm good with my homework then its possible I can do another tonight, but if not, then maybe Tuesday.**

**Hope you like this one. I had a few 'Rose is bad tempered' remarks so she's got a part in this to try and persuade you other wise. Rose isn't bitchy, just slightly mood swingy. Sorry Rose, I do still love you.**

**Hope you like this. Guess who Iszy's about it meet?**

* * *

I was leaning against the bar when the last bars of the song slammed to a stop and Charlie leant his guitar against the speaker. He exchanged a shoulder thump with Alex and together they jumped down from the stage and fought through the crowd towards us. Magnus waved over the swarm of people at him and leant over the bar to order a drink for him and Alex.

I started hyperventilating. They were coming over. I was about to meet _Alex Winchester_!

Liv saw my distress and spun me round to grab my shoulders and look into my eyes. "Pull yourself together" She said slowly and firmly. "They are going to think you are a complete spaz if you just act like a crazed stalker."

I nodded and tried to slow my breath down. "How close are they?"

She glanced over my head and immediately straightened, wiping the serious look from her face. "Charlie! Good to see you again, that was _amazing_."

I heard Charlie laugh and Liv dodged me to give him a hug. My shoulders were tense. I turned slowly and found myself face to chest with a wall of black t-shirt.

I gasped and looked up into the face of Alex Winchester. He frowned and stepped back quickly, leaving me with a cold rush of air from the space he had vacated.

Charlie stepped forward and hugged me, "Iszy! You look a bit star struck."

I felt Liv's elbow in my ribs and snapped out of it. "Really? No, I'm fine. That was _really_ good. I love _Stella_."

He smiled. "Thanks, it was all this guy though." He patted Alex's shoulder and pulled me forward to introduce us.

_Don't spaz out_, Liv's voice was calm and slightly warning in my head.

I smiled up at Alex, who remained solemn throughout.

Charlie glanced at our stares. "Alex, this is Iszy, Magnus and Nico's cousin. She's the singer of their band. Iszy, Alex, who I'm sure you know a lot about."

I grinned and held out my hand. He raised an eyebrow and slowly looked me up and down before taking it reluctantly and shaking it firmly. "Nice to meet you."

The coldness surprised me slightly, he seemed so much more alive on stage than now, he must be either tense or slightly awkward.

"You too! I was introduced to your music when we met Charlie and I _love_ it! It's so good. You've got everything in there, the music, the deep lyrics, but it's all really fun to listen to as well." I recognised the usual symptoms of babbling and stopped myself before Liv had to elbow me again.

"Thank you." He said stiffly and walked past me to stand next to Charlie, who passed him a beer and went back to chatting with Magnus.

My eyebrows raised. What was his problem? _Thank you_? Was that _it_? I had never met any musicians who wouldn't talk about their music with a fan. And I knew the business, I understood it more than many others. He could at least _ask_ about Sixty Second Countdown.

Maybe he's just tense after the performance. The adrenaline did get to people sometimes. I turned and smiled at Liv, who nodded at a drink on the bar for me and we started chatting about the band.

**Rose's P.O.V.**

Crap, could the bouncer take any longer looking at my ID? I had just heard the cheer from outside that meant I'd missed the band. Traffic in this dammed city was shitty on nights like this. Sooner I could get in the better.

The guy finally nodded at me and handed back my card, letting me push past him into the smoky dark club.

The stage was empty, with tech guys running back and forth to clear off the speakers and instruments. I'd just have to take Liv and Iszy's word for it on whether they were good or not.

Charlie, that was Magnus' friend, I knew that. And Iszy talked my ears off about Alex bloody Winchester that I would know that name anywhere now.

I looked down into the mosh pit which was dispersing now there was no more music. Shame, I was looking forward to seeing them in action.

I brushed my hair out of my eyes to look harder, the strange coloured lights turning it purple instead of its normal red. But the smoke still got in the way, making me look like an idiot as I tried to wave it away. My collection of band bracelets stuck to my skin but provided a good fiddle item for when I was slightly nervous. I twisted one between my fingers and squinted through the crowd, looking for my friends.

I heard my name shouted from the other side of the room, by the bar. Liv was waving wildly over the other's heads and I waved back, braking into a relived grin.

_There you are!_ Liv's voice jumped into my head. _Traffic again?_

_Yeah, this city sucks, were they good?_

_Really good! You have to meet Charlie, he's really nice._ She pointed discreetly towards a curly haired guy with his back to me, talking to Magnus and a giant guy in black. I saw Iszy sending surreptitious glances at his back and realised that this was probably the famous Alex Winchester. Magnus caught my eye and grinned. The sudden stop in conversation made the curly haired guy turn to have a look at whoever Magnus was grinning at.

Oh _God_.

I could seriously go for that.

He had sandy brown curly hair that kept falling in his eyes, even when he pushing it away to get a better look. He was slightly lanky, but not scrawny. He looked like a musician, if that makes any sense.

His eyebrows were raised and he stared at me, making me feel awkward and self-conscious. I glanced down at my coat and band bracelets. Maybe I should have worn a skirt.

I immediately stopped myself. I hated wearing skirts, I liked my coat and bracelets. And these were my friends, except maybe Curly and Winchester who looked terrifying. What's the worst they could do?

_Well_, the little self-conscious voice in side my head whispered, _do you mean apart from crush your self-esteem and make you throw away your favourite clothes because you now feel uncomfortable in them?_

Sighing, I realised I could not go and change, only hope that Liv and Iszy would have my back.

I squared my shoulders and stared walking down the stairs towards the group.

* * *

**Good?**

**Please tell me as i need to know and it will slightly boost my self respect, meaning more chapters.**

**Right, homework, then wattpad check, then chapter, then supper, then Downton Abbey. See you soon.**

**XXX**


	5. And It Begins

**Hi Guys!**

**I know, aren't you lucky! Two updates in one day!**

**I couldn't wait to write this one. So I really hope you like it.**

**Rose gets her Prince Charming!**

* * *

Charlie's P.O.V.

I my insides turned to mush and my stomach rolled.

I didn't even try to pull myself together, just let my brain slide into a series of burbling.

_Who-is-she-i-need-to-meet-her-whats-her-name-is-sh e-single-whats-her-life-story-am-i-cool-enough-for -her-to-even-pay-attention-to-me-what-do-i-do?_

It was intense.

The girl was standing by the rail, looking down the stairs towards the bar and smiling at Magnus. I pushed my hair out of my eyes and stared, letting myself revel in watching her.

She caught my gaze and her eyes turned slightly nervous, like I was awkwarding her out.

Tough luck, no way were my eyes leaving hers.

She was gorgeous, her curly hair was dyed red with blue tips and black streaks, like she couldn't decide on what colour to have it so she went for all three. She had freckles spattered all over her face and her smile was blinding.

She brimmed with character.

I was in love.

Soulfinder? What soulfinder?

She hunched her shoulders and started coming down the stairs towards us, my gaze obviously making her uncomfortable.

Way to go Charlie, Mr Smooth right there.

I butted into Liv's head, regardless of the conversation she was having with Nico.

_Who's that girl?_

Liv glanced back up and I could hear the smile in her head voice.

_The girl with curly hair? That's Rose, she's one of our group._

Silence while I stared a bit more.

_She's cool, you'll like her._ Liv said and I felt heat rise to my cheeks as Rose got to the bottom of the stairs and started dodging through the crowd towards us.

Rose. I nearly sighed the thought in my head, glad I didn't say it out loud.

Alex nudged me with his elbow. "What're you staring at?"

I just gaped as she got closer. I could now see how she huddled into her coat and fiddled with an array of bracelets on her wrists.

Alex looked up at her and snorted with laughter. "You have _got _to be kidding me."

I didn't even shake my head, just turned so I didn't appear like a stalker. Magnus grinned at me and bobbed his eyebrows.

"Want an introduction?" He said.

I leant my elbows on the bar top and twisted my empty beer glass in my hands. "I don't know, do I?"

Magnus glanced over to where The Girl Called Rose was now chatting to Olivia. "She's cool, and single, and she came here to meet you guys."

I smiled up at him. "Mango, you know you're my best friend?"

He laughed and thumped my shoulder. "Come on, I'll introduce you."

He led me towards the girls and my stomach started flipping around again.

_Be cool be cool be cool_, I said over and over again to myself, praying that I didn't screw up.

"Rose, this is Charlie Hiddleston, guitarist of the band. Charlie, this is Rose Tennant, one of our friends." Magnus took Olivia's arm and pulled her away, leaving me alone with Rose Tennant.

She smiled at me, a bright grin full of personality and excitement. "Hi, I was really looking forward to meeting you guys and hearing you play, but the traffic is shit so I was late."

I laughed slightly hysterically and mentally slapped myself. "Pity, we could have used another listener. So, you know Magnus and Nico and people?"

She nodded and started fiddling with her bracelets again. "Yeah, I'm a friend of Liv and Iszy's. Then I met Magnus and Nico and Kay through them."

I nodded, her wrists catching my eye. "Cool bracelets."

She raised her hands and had a look at them. "Really?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I like them, what do they say?"

She held them closer so I could see them, I wasn't really concentrating on her bracelets though, I was looking at her hands and wrists. She had slightly bitten nails and the faded remains of a lifetime of ink on her skin, everything from quotes to scribbles to reminders to get milk. They added to the bracelet collection to show a diary of things she'd done, things she liked and things she'd seen.

I listened in to what she was saying. "I collect bracelets from stuff that I've done. There are a few festival ones, some charities but mostly bands that I've seen."

I scanned them but didn't see the blood red rubber of Hand In Hand To Hell bracelet. "Good hobby, I wish I could collect stuff like that."

She shrugged. "I don't know, it was just something I started doing."

I smiled. "I like it."

She shrugged again and stuck her hands in her pockets, awkward again.

"You want a drink?" I asked, gesturing back towards the bar where the others were pointedly not looking at us.

She nodded quickly and blushed a bit, looking at me under her eyelashes.

She wanted a drink!

From _me_!

She was _blushing_!

I was in heaven. I could have run to the moon at that minute but I decided on staying instead.

I just grinned, my lips threatening to tear my face in two. "Great. A beer?"

She nodded and we walked over towards the others.

I shouted the order over the bar top and the frazzled looking bartender hurried to mix it up.

"So, you live around here?" I asked as she shrugged out of her coat and sat on one of the stools, kicking her feet and playing with her bracelets.

"Yeah, I live in an apartment with Liv, Iszy stays with Mag and Nick. It's just us spinsters together. What about you?"

I cringed, hoping that this wouldn't come up. "Um, I actually travel around a lot. Most of my time is in New York but I move around so much that I don't have anywhere solid to live."

Great, now she thought I was a hobo.

"You stay in a hotel every night? That must be really expensive." She frowned and looked slightly worried which boosted my heart rate a bit.

I shook my head and looked down at her shoes. "Um, no. Actually I have a campervan that I live in and I crash at Alex's when I'm in New York."

Her eyes widened. "You have a campervan?!"

I nodded. "A green VW campervan."

Her jaw dropped. "I am so jealous!"

I looked up quickly, new hope coursing through me. "Really?!"

She nodded feverishly and her hair bobbed around wildly. "I have always wanted to stay in one! I love them, especially the VW ones, they're so cool!"

I gaped at her.

There was silence.

"Charlie?" She started looking awkward again.

I burst. "Ok, you are officially the most awesome girl I have ever met in my _entire_ life!"

She was stunned for a second before bursting into a rippling laughter that made me laugh along with her.

"That's a really cool thing to say!" She kept smiling as she slowly calmed down again.

Then she held her hand and smile at me. "I like you Charlie, you're a keeper."

I grinned, celebrating the victory and reached forward to shake her hand.

No way was I letting this go.

* * *

**Good?**

**Please tell me what you think!**

**Next chapter will be Iszy and Alex.**

**Do you like Rose? I hope you do!**

**Next chapter maybe on Tuesday but if not them next Saturday.**

**See you then!**

**XXX**


	6. How The Mighty Fall

**Hi Guys!**

**So, I know I said maybe there would be a chapter yesterday, but then Great British Bake Off. But I did half of one and have finished it off today.**

**This chapter is dedicated to IAmSoRandomItScaresMe, who apparently loves my author's notes. Well, here is one for you because I love you.**

**Wait, is my worry really that entertaining?**

**Also, I need to know your opinion. Like really, no joke. Iszy, Liv, Rose, Charlie and Alex. Also any others if you really want. Please? I will mention you next chapter and it will take one minute tops.**

**Here's the next one. Hope you like it.**

**Oh wait! I forgot to write in the other chapters (which was stupid seeing as she was the main character) what Iszy's power is. So, I'm going to make a list underneath.**

**Iszy - Inanimate object shape shifting. (she can turn into dead objects)**

**Magnus - Teleport**

**Nico - Teleport**

**Liv - Can read people's thoughts**

**Rose - Can sense where anything and everything is (humans, animals, that elusive Ed Sheeran Grammy etc.)**

**Charlie - Good at everything he sets his mind to**

**Kay - Can change other people's looks (both a blessing and a curse)**

**Clear?**

**Good, hope you like it.**

**Ohohohoh! And competition, I need a power for Alex! You have until Friday evening as that is when I will start the next chapter. Go! Start thinking my padwans!**

* * *

Iszy's P.O.V.

I was sitting by the bar chatting to a fan who had spotted us when Alex came and stood awkwardly next to me, fiddling with his glass. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes but he stayed staring at the crowd, looking like he was thinking way deep thoughts.

"Well, it was really nice to meet you Anna, I'll see you at our next gig, and I'll reserve one of our new posters for you." I grinned at the girl who waved and ran off to chat to her friends.

There was that horrible moment of silence when you can't decide if talking would make it more awkward or less.

"So…" I drawled out, hoping that inspiration would strike.

Alex glanced my way but went back to crowd spotting.

"Not a man of many words are you?" I asked, spinning round on my stool and picking up my half-drunk beer.

"I'm not the social butterfly that Charlie and your cousins seem to be." He said shortly.

I took a gulp of my slightly warm beer, flat after a long wait on the bar top. "Really? I'd have thought you would be, you know, being in the band and all."

He stayed silent for a second. "Well, you thought wrong."

I raised an eyebrow at the orange liquid in my glass. Well, be as short as you want then, don't mind me just trying to be polite. "I can see that seeing as you haven't spoken to anyone other than Charlie pretty much all night. What is it? Chronic shyness?"

I _was_ joking, I mean, he was in a band, you kinda had to be social if you went into that kind of business. You can't be successful if you don't talk.

He turned smoothly and placed his glass firmly on the bar top, the veins on his arms rippling. "No, I just prefer not to enter into a conversation that won't get either of the participants anywhere."

I smiled to myself, assuming he was joking. "Participants? Someone ate a dictionary for breakfast."

I heard his teeth grind together as he clenched his jaw. "Society will do that do you. Living in someone _else's_ college room, however, wont."

I froze, the glass halfway to my lips. He turned on a heel and stalked away, going and standing beside some blonde girl who was glued to her phone. He mouthed a word and she answered just as shortly, without taking her eyes off the screen.

Asshole!

I put the glass down on the counter, suddenly losing my taste for booze.

Dan, the bartender came over. "You alright Iz?"

I pursed my lips, putting on that smiley face that people do when they want to punch something. "Fine, Dan. Just having one of those moments when you realize your hero is a complete dickhead."

He took my glass and wiped under it, looking sorry for me. "Winchester? I know, I'm sorry. He came in here looking all up himself ant all the ladies talking." He sighed and flicked his tea towel over his shoulder. "And you girls natter about too much anyway, let alone adding a stuck up, good looking musician into the mix as well."

I sighed and propped my head into my hands, mourning the loss of my Winchester madness. My favourite band had just been knocked off centre as their main man had shown his colours.

A hand rested on my back. "Are you alright?" Liv slipped onto the next stool and leant forward.

I nodded. "Yeah, just dealing with the fact I have been basing my musical career on an arrogant little jackass."

Liv looked over her shoulder to where Alex had now joined the blonde girl in looking at his phone.

"Well, Charlie's nice." She said, trying to pull it back from the edge.

We turned again and saw Charlie and Rose in fits of laughter over something only they knew.

"Do you know who that girl is?" I asked, cross that those two thought they were so damn set apart from the rest of us that they deliberately acted standoffish.

Liv leant forward a bit, like she did when she was either bitching or telling you something very quickly.

"That's Charlie's sister, Stella I think she's called. I don't know much about her, only that she's a model for Vogue and that she and Alex had a fling a year or so ago. There's a rumour going around that their song _Stella_ is written about her. He wasn't being exactly subtle when he named it and she's really pleased about that. I think she wants him back now he's becoming a star."

I frowned. "But the girl in that song was a bitch."

Liv shrugged. "Hey, she's got her name out there, attached to a nearly famous singer, its win-win for her."

I sighed and turned back to the bar. "Men."

Liv laughed. "Indeed my friend, indeed. Elisabeth is the smartest out of us, we should all follow her example."

I smiled. Liv's little sister Elisabeth had been dropping heavy hints that she was a lesbian since she was thirteen, but we'd all be too thick to get it. She finally dropped the 'big bomb' was now a lot louder and more comfortable with herself. Some of the dirty jokes that came out of her surprised Liv, and she was her sister.

Liv dipped into her savant power and found out what I was really thinking. "Hey, Winchester's an asshole, doesn't mean you have to care."

I spun round on my stool to face her. "He basically called me a layabout tramp! He was all like, 'good society' and 'participants' and 'living in a college room you don't even go to will get you no-where'. Seriously, what kind of a guy says 'participants' and won't talk to anyone at his own gig?!"

Liv shrugged and tried to look compassionate. "A very troubled young man who probably had a difficult childhood."

I raised my eyebrow. "Or just an asshole."

She grinned. "Or just an asshole."

I looked over my shoulder again. Alex was staring at me, frowning, like something had just occurred to him, like he was suddenly seeing me in a slightly new light.

I nearly smiled, deciding he might be a nice guy after all.

But then he smirked and went back to his phone, shaking his head slightly, like the thought he'd just had was stupid.

So, I made a very rational decision.

I decided to hate him forever.

* * *

**Good?**

**Please say!**

**So, opinions on characters, opinion on story, power for Alex. **

**Box is below, you know what to do.**

**I love you!**


	7. Oh He Said It

**Hi Guys!**

**I know this update if late for the weekend, normally i have up up on Saturday and then again the next day. But the internet is a predictable thing. If you have internet connection no work gets done.**

**Also, you guys really suck at reviewing. I am trying not to panic about this story.**

* * *

The final band was just introducing their last song, and I had finally begun to feel drunk enough to tolerate them. Trust me when I say that it is only the crappiest ones that wait till last. There was a full hour and a half of chart music played off some kid's iPod before they got their act together and battled down stage fright to come on stage.

Poor sods.

They started playing a slightly jumpy, kind of off key song that their drunk lead singer had dedicated to 'the best girl in the world' and a crowd of people ran off to the dance floor.

I saw Charlie jump up and grab Rose's hand, pulling him after her before wrapping his hands around her waist and they started swaying to what beat there was and laughing at their mistakes.

I sat and watched, kind of wistfully, not noticing when Liv silently got Dan the bartender to take my half-finished beer and cut me off from the booze.

Magnus was dancing with some girl he'd met, but judging from his expression she was enjoying it more than he was. Nico was passed out somewhere after running into Jules The Big Ex and 'drowning his sorrows'.

_Hmm, having a soulfinder would be nice._

I snapped my head back and shook it, clearing the cobwebs. _Really Iszy? What have you said about not needing a soulfinder to be happy?_

_I know,_ the smaller part of me said, _but you have to admit it would be nice to have one._

_Fine, yeah it would, but just because you don't have one doesn't mean you're going to be miserable._

I looked around for something to do. Liv was tapping her foot to the beat and typing quickly on her phone.

"Anything interesting?" I asked.

She glanced up. "Hmm? Oh, no, not really. Basically, this band's doing gigs in New York around the time that we're there so I thought it might be advantageous if we organised a meeting, you know, to bond or whatever."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are they any good?"

She smiled. "Probably not, but Katherine Burgess likes them so that's a pointer that they should become quality in the future."

I laughed. "More fangirling about Katherine Burgess Liv?"

Liv tried to protest but failed. Katherine Burgess was her idol. She was a woman in her early sixties, glamorous and chique, with a few really nice houses and a huge income from spotting talent in their early days. So many of the chart topping groups around at the moment were backed by her after she'd met them and seen that little something. You've probably heard of a few of them.

The song ended with a mismatched crash and Rose and Charlie wandered back, breathing heavily from dancing. Charlie touched her arm gently and they parted, Rose coming towards us and Charlie going over to where Alex was thinking deep thoughts.

"You ok?" Liv looked up as Rose stopped in front of us.

Rose grinned and nodded. "That was awesome! I mean, the music was shit but it was really fun."

Liv and I laughed. "Yeah, I can see you were enjoying it."

Charlie was talking to Alex out of the corner of my eye, the taller one looking suitably disinterested in whatever he was saying.

There was a scream from the door and I saw Kay, my little sister run in and start flirting straight away with the nearest guy. She spotted me and waved, mouthing at me to wait.

My insides sank. No way did I need to deal with a hormonal nineteen year old when I was this drunk.

I got up and swayed on the spot, waiting for the blur to leave my eyes. "I'm going outside for some air, come and get me when we go."

Liv looked concerned. "You need me to come with you? It doesn't seem like a very safe alley out back. You know, prime place for serial killers."

I smiled. "Nah I'll be fine. I can just turn into a rock or whatever, you can't rape inanimate objects."

They both laughed and I turned slowly, making my way through the crowd towards the back door.

"Come on Alex, they have another two songs, you have to dance for one of them, or what was the point of staying?" Charlie sounded pleading and slightly disappointed as I passed close by them, neither of them seeing me. I slowed, and listened in, yeah don't shout at me for being nosy.

Alex sounded bored. "We came here to play our set and I am only staying because it would be rude to leave."

Ha! I nearly laughed but covered it with a hand and a smile. Rude? Him? _Never._

"Also, you're my ride." He said shortly.

Oh the true colours show through.

"Come on Alex. Please? For me? Just one dance. You could dance with Stella, or Liv or that giggly girl with too much hair who just came in." Charlie sounded like he'd rehearsed this speech. "But you can't have Rose, I've got her for the rest of the evening."

I stopped by the wall, eavesdropping unashamedly.

There was a short silence before Alex deemed it acceptable to answer.

"You are dancing with the only pretty girl here who isn't drunk."

Charlie audibly sighed. "She's amazing isn't she? And she's so cool as well!"

Alex's voice sounded slightly amused. "Careful Charlie, you have a soulfinder somewhere."

Charlie groaned and changed the subject. "You are so boring. Look, what about dancing with Iszy? She's nice, and a good dancer, I know that personally. And you've met her so it won't be so awkward."

I raised an eyebrow, dying to hear what His Majesty said to this.

Silence.

"She isn't bad looking I suppose." He voice sounded bored again. "But she's not pretty enough to tempt me. Go back to your girlfriend, you're wasting your time with me."

I saw Charlie reach into his pocket and take out a red rubber bracelet. "I'm going to give her this, it's a bracelet for our band, I saw she didn't have one. Do you think she'll like it?"

Alex snorted and Charlie left, going towards Rose and Liv.

I closed my jaw from where it hung open. Oh he said it, he actually said it.

That quieter voice inside me sounded. _Forget what I said, he a douche bag._

I started to smile as the crowd between me and him cleared and his eye caught mine. He froze. I smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow so he knew I'd heard.

Then I turned and walked out of the door into the cold outside.

My head immediately cleared and I stood by the steps back inside breathing deeply and stamping my feet.

That had hurt, I know it shouldn't, but it did.

I heard steps come towards the door and I backed up a bit, hiding myself in a shadow, not wanting to talk to Alex or Kay, whichever it was.

Kay burst out of the door and looked around for me. "Iz? Where are you?"

I stayed silent.

She came down the steps and looked around again. "Ok, I know you're hiding but I have something mega important to tell you."

She so didn't.

I held my breath and concentrated. When I pictured the scene in my head I imagined one of our band posters stuck onto the wall where I stood. Bam, there it was. It was me. That's what I had to do to shape shift, imagine hat and where I was. Posters don't have eyes so I had to use my head.

Kay sighed and left, closing the door behind her.

I breathed out again and stepped down from the wall, righting my clothes that were now covered in paper scraps and poster glue.

I steppe doubt of the shadow and dusted my self down.

"I knew it." A voice sounded from by the door.

I spun around and saw Alex staring at me, the orange light of a street lamp making his features stand out.

"What?" I said, startled into stupidity.

He stared again, seeming too stunned for words.

"I knew you were a savant."

* * *

**DunDunDaaa!**

**Now, i know that you know what to do. Review, please?**


	8. So Much Damn Enthusiasm

**Im sorry Im sorry Im sorry!**

**It's been two weeks ish since the last update and i cant believe it. Im really sorry. I was away last weekend so i couldn't write and then half term on Tuesday but i haven't done anything till now and im really sorry.**

**So, im going to stop nagging about reviews. Honestly, its probably really annoying and im sorry for that as well. NxPanacheX wrote an awesome one so i honestly love you. And people keep saying they're sorry for not reviewing, from not on, not review as much as you wont. I wont nag, i wont whine, i wont anything except write.**

**Here's the next chapter, hope you like it.**

* * *

Unsurprisingly, things got a bit more awkward after that exchange. I tactfully just stared at Alex before squeezing past him and running over to Liv and Rose, begging to go home. Liv immediately asked if I was alright and Rose ran off to make our excuses to Magnus and Nico, both of which were standing just on the wrong side of sober.

"What happened?" Liv asked and we three hurried away against the chill, our collars turned up and our hands thrust deep into our pockets.

"Alex came out and was a douchebag." I said simply. I still didn't understand. How the hell did he know I was a Savant? I'd made sure I stood in the shadows before changing into the poster and I'd done the same on the other side. He couldn't have seen me do that. But he'd stared at me so hard that he had to be certain of the fact. I frowned at my feet as they padded across the cold pavement. _Argh!_ Hateful man.

"What did he say?" Rose stayed at Liv's other side and wrapped her parka closer around her.

I sighed. They were my best friends, and I probably wouldn't want to keep this a secret. What was the pint?

"He knows I'm a Savant." I said, not looking at them. "I don't know how, but he came out and said that he knew I was."

"Woah. What did you say?" Liv linked arms with me and Rose, pulling us out of the way of a couple of drunk party goers.

"Nothing, I freaked out and left."

Rose blew out hard from her mouth. "Well, maybe he knows someone who's a savant. Or maybe he's one."

I snorted with laughter. "Yeah right, can you imagine him being a savant? He'd never let anyone forget it. Trust me, Savant he is not."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Two days later**

"So, Iszy, how's the new album going?" Charlie was sitting next to Rose on Magnus's couch, smiling and making small talk while Alex brooded by the table.

I shrugged and nursed my mug of coffee. "Good, we just added a new song, _That Hateful Look_. Just four more to go now, and we'll have done that by the time the tour starts."

Charlie nodded and turned to Rose, starting a whispered conversation that had her staring at her feet and trying to hide a blush.

I looked around the room for distraction, the chords of our new song in my head. We'd spent two days solid in our makeshift studio, playing the music again and again so I could sing it in my sleep. I'd come up with the idea just as I threw my coat off after Charlie's gig and had it down on paper in two hours. Kay had started whinging after the first hour in the studio but a threat of kicking her out from Magnus shut her up and she sung as hard as she could with a hangover and a foreign one night stand ringing every ten minutes.

My eyes caught Alex's from where he sat at the table. He gave me that calculating look that screamed _'I know your secret.'_ I gave him my best glare and he looked away.

One up Mr Winchester, one up.

I stood and took my empty mug over to the sink, humming the tune of _That Hateful Look_. The water swilled in the bottom of the cup as I rinsed it and stood it upside down in the drying rack so the cleaner didn't shout at me in Chinese again.

"So, Isabel. You have an album coming out soon?" A cold voice sounded behind me and I spun round to see Alex standing a few metres away.

"Isabel?" I raised an eyebrow. "No one calls me that. It's Iszy."

He sighed, like I was causing him pain to be so pedantic. "Fine, Iszy, your new album?"

I folded my arms and leant against the sink. In my black camisole and red jeans I felt very naked next to him. Like he was scrutinising me and my band. "Yes, _Your Own Bloody Fault_. It's coming out in February. Why?"

He shrugged and looked away to where Rose and Charlie were examining his present on her wrist, the new bracelet made a worthy addition to her collection and she loved it. "No reason, just being polite."

I sighed. "Well, to be polite you kind of have to make it sound like you care. Or at least that you have some vague interest in the subject. You're just asking because you want someone to be paying attention to you."

He stared at me. "I see. Well, I apologise for wasting your time." He turned on his heel and stalked towards the door, shouting an excuse at Charlie as he left. His friend barely heard him as he was deep in concentration on what Rose was saying.

I turned away, fuming and ground my teeth. Arrogant, Self-Involved Little Shit! Who the _hell_ did he think he was? He couldn't just walk in here, drink the coffee that I bought and then ask about my band, while making it obvious that he couldn't give a damn.

_Don't grind your teeth_, Liv sounded in my head. _You'll wear them away and then who'll sing for the band?_

I smiled to myself, keeping my back turned until I calmed down. _I love how the band is your greatest concern here._

_Phhh_, the band is my life. _You, on the other hand, can stay only until I find a replacement._

I turned and grinned at her. "I hate you."

She smiled from where she was typing away at her laptop. "I know."

"Jesus! Iszy!" Magnus's voice yelled from where he was playing with his phone while his friend flirted.

"What?!" I started and ran over to hm.

He held out the phone and I saw an email from his mother Diamond, my aunt, on the screen. He'd highlighted a section and told me to read it.

_I met the dearest Miss Winchester the other day. She was lovely, Willow her name was. She and her brother have just inherited a large chunk of Savant Net stuff from their mother Anne, who died a few months. I was helping her out. If you meet her or her brother Alex, be nice to them as they can't be having an altogether great time at the moment. From what I hear her brother is a singer so you might bump into him on your rounds._

"Holy Shit!" I yelled.

Magnus just nodded gravely. "I know right?"

Liv ran over and read the email. "_That's_ how he knew about you Iszy, his power must have told him something."

I rounded on a surprised looking Charlie. "Why didn't you tell me Alex was a Savant?!"

He blinked, "I thought you knew!"

I just shook my head, stunned.

He shrugged. "I swear I told you. No? Oh, well it might have been because I can't really tell anyone about being a savant at all. Maybe I just got into the habit of keeping it quiet. Sorry?"

I accepted his apology in a daze. "What's his power?"

"He can sense when there are other Savants in the room. It gets him uncomfortable, like he'll have to defend his title if someone is better known in the Savant World. He's used to being the king here, so when there are other superheroes around he gets tense. But I thought he'd sorted it out by now."

I sat down heavily. "Brilliant."

Liv smiled sympathetically at me. "Well, that's how he knew."

I threw my hands in the air. "So now, not only am I getting this new album together and trying to organise a tour, I'm _also _dealing with an over exaggerated hormonal Savant as well. This is going to be a tough winter."

* * *

**I said i wouldnt nag, and i wont. Im not even going to mention that box underneath this. Not gonna do it!**


	9. Just Not Good Enough

**Hi!**

**So, I found myself some extra time and I thought I'd do a new chapter. (I'm meant to be revising Oxides and Industry Shhh)**

**I originally thought this would be a filler but it turned out quite nicely.**

**Thank you for the reviews apologizing for not doing just that, but it's ok, I feel bad now about making you apologise.**

**This is for Jj, a guest reader, who reviewed last. Oh, and Jj? _'waiting expectantly_'?! Pressure much!**

**Hope you like it**

* * *

My pencil had bored a hole through the paper as I lay on the grass in the campus and doodled, hoping inspiration would strike. I'd done two crappy lines in the last half hour and the rest was being very un-striking. Magnus was dozing in the rare winter sun while Nico filled his brother's ears with grass. He looked like a gross goblin from some 80's film. Kay was painting her nails bubble-gum pink and reading a gossip magazine, every so often squealing and telling me all there is to know about some Barbie's new divorce. Boring.

The tip of my pencil broke through the paper again and dug into the earth underneath me. I pulled it out and started on a new doodle of procrastination.

"How's it going?" Liv nudged me, her eyes fixed on her book.

I sighed and rolled onto my back, staring at the clouds with my hands behind me head. "Argh, I'm dying."

She turned a page. "That's a pity."

"I can't write, I have a problem, what's it called?"

She smiled and adjusted the way she was leaning on her elbows. "Writer's block?"

"Yes!" I reached over and angled her book upwards so I could see the title. A picture of a woman in an empire skirt talking to a man with amazing sideburns illustrated the name of the book. _Pride & Prejudice_ by Jane Austen.

I smile, "_Again_ Liv?"

She laughed. "Yes again! It's the best, now go away so I can panic about Mr Collins and Lizzie."

I sat up and picked some grass out of my hair. "I bet you a coffee that she refuses him."

Liv flashed me a look. "Go and talk to Rose."

I glanced over to where Roe was leaning against a tree with Charlie who had come over yet again to 'talk guy stuff with Magnus'. If he'd said one word to M in the last two hours then I was Lizzie Bennet.

"I can't, she's with Charlie."

Liv looked over at them before pulling me down again next to her. "Excellent, don't disturb them, leave romance to do its work."

I sighed and went back to doodling.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Rose's P.O.V.**

"So then I took my caravan and we went on a road trip round Europe. It was awesome, we went to London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Rome, Madrid, everywhere. But we had to cut it short when I realised I had eaten through my allowance and gone into Alex's." Charlie was illustrating his story with his hands, waves and flicks, it could have been anything.

"That sounds amazing, I've always wanted to go to Europe." I said wistfully, playing with the band he gave me two weeks ago.

"You've never been?" He sounded surprised.

I shook my head, suddenly awkward with the fact that he'd been everywhere and I'd never left Colorado.

"Well," He sounded defiant. "I'll take you. We'll save up a bit, grab the caravan and do the road trip all over again."

I looked up. "Yeah, and we'll get mini jobs in diners to pay our way and go for weeks without staying anywhere solid and realise half way through that this is the life for us and end up in Italy living out of the van for the rest of our days."

He stared at me, waiting for me to catch on.

"Oh my god." I said suddenly. "You're serious."

He nodded, grinning. "Yeah, I am. I really mean it."

I laughed, still not clicking. "You want to take me to Europe?"

He nodded, his eyes softening as he looked at me. I felt heat rise to my cheeks and looked away, back to my fiddling fingers.

"You're serious?" I asked again, still not really believing it.

He nodded and took my hand slowly, twining our fingers together, going through the plastic band on my wrist. "Yup, I want to show you Europe, and hopefully a lot else. How about it?"

I looked up at his face, trying to make sure he was asking what I thought he was? "Charlie, are you asking me out?"

He glanced away, smiling slightly, his own cheeks reddening a bit. "Possibly, that depends, what would you say if I did?"

I gaped for a second. He was actually asking me out. This wasn't some joke form a douchebag. This was an _asking out_ from _Charlie! Charlie!_ My stomach flipped and squirmed. My brain short-circuited.

But, logic had to win. "Could I have a minute?" I let go of his hand and got to my feet. "I'm just going to get my coat. I'll be back in a bit."

He blinked, his surety of my answer dying. My chest tightened, I didn't want him to hurt over this, I just needed to think. My self-consciousness was battling its way through.

"Oh, ok." He said, quieter than normal and looking slightly downtrodden.

I tried to make it better. "Hey,"

He looked up at me.

I smiled. "I'll be back in a bit."

He stared looking hopeful again, and smiled, his whole face lighting up like the Charlie I knew.

I turned and walked over to Magnus's rooms, remembering my green parka slung over the sofa arm.

"Rose isn't it?"

I turned sharply at the sound of my name and came face to face with a girl, maybe a few years older than me.

She was blonde, her hair falling over one shoulder, beautifully done, complimenting her coral pink shirt and her skinny white jeans. There were a pair of large sunglasses on her head and a white bag slung over one arm. A Starbucks takeaway latte was clutched in one manicured hand. She was the definition of White Girl.

"Stella." She held out her free hand and I shook it blindly. _Stella_.

"Charlie's sister right?" I said, slightly intimidated by her confidence and looks.

She nodded and sipped her drink before speaking. "Yes, Charlie's my baby brother."

I frowned. "He's two years younger than you."

She waved it away and played with her hair. "So, I just wanted to meet you, Charlie didn't want to introduce us last time I saw you. Not sure why. Of course, you are a lot different from his last girlfriends. Very different actually. What do you do?"

I was a bit startled, it wasn't often some gorgeous girl came up and said you were very different from her brother's exes. "Um, I don't work actually, I help with my friend's band."

She pursed her crafted lips and looked me up and down. I suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious in my ratty jeans and stripy top, with pen on my hands and my sleeves tangled with my wrist bands. I could see her take it all in and it was obvious what she thought.

"Ah. Well, you see, I set up Charlie and his last two girlfriends. I met them through work. I'm a model, but of course you knew that."

I didn't actually but she kept going.

"Anyway, seeing as his last two girlfriends were models by the time they were nineteen and the one before that was one of my bestest friends. Caroline, her name was, poor girl. They were all so lovely, but of course, boys will be boys and he wasn't exactly interested in sticking around."

I gaped at her. My hands started covering up my wristbands, even Charlie's. My feet felt strange in their white converses and I felt naked without my parka to hide in. "Right, well, I'm not a model."

She laughed to herself, looking me up and down again. "No, no you _really_ aren't."

My shoulders hunched against her onslaught.

She sighed and checked her dainty watch. "Well, it really is time for me to dash. I have a photo shoot in two hours and I simply must get my pedicure beforehand. I just wanted to see if it was true that Charlie had a new girl."

I nodded dumbly, my shyness and self-consciousness eating away at me.

She turned on a heel and started walking away. "I'll see you at Christmas maybe Rose. That's often when the family meets Charlie's latest playmate."

And with a flick of her platinum blonde hair she was gone.

There was a hollow feeling in my stomach. It had been a long time since someone had taken that much of a hole out of me. I had to physically rub my chest to make sure my heart was still there.

That really hurt.

I turned to get my coat.

I was going home.

The promise of Europe was fading away.

* * *

**I know! Sad right!**

**I'm not going to nag about that box underneath, I promised.**

**See you soon**

**xxx**


	10. The Plans Take Shape

**Hi Guys!**

**Ok, I'm a bad writer. I leave you for ages without an update, then apologise and promise to never do it again. The what do I do? Leave you for ages. I really am sorry. I cant promise because school and GCSE Mock revision but I will try to update whenever I can. I dont write ahead, that's my problem. If I've written a chapter I will update straight away, no writing for the future. **

**Anyway, things are starting to heat up which is good. Pride and Prejudice is not a very hot book thought so I'm trying, aided by my imagination and a group of slightly skeptical but enthusiastic friends.**

**This is one devoted to Olivia and Elisabeth Lucas. Elisabeth Lucas is based on my best friend ElisabethLM who briefly made a show in Thinking of Marian as her best friend Elizabeth But that was rubbish. In the words of ElisabethLM I made her 'blonde, Armenian and straight, what was I playing at?' In my defense, I didnt know about the straight bit.**

**So, this chapter is mad up of a role play of texts that I had with Elisabeth to make sure I got her voice right. I hope you like it.**

* * *

**Olivia's P.O.V.**

I clicked my fingers slowly while staring at the logistics on the laptop screen in front of me. It was so damn complicated. Why did one band need so much pre warning if another was coming to say hi? It's not like they're going to arrive with fireworks and a red carpet.

"Argh!" My head fell forward and I dug the heels of my hands into my eyes.

"What's up?" A soft voice sounded from the sofa behind me.

I turned and smiled at my sister Elisabeth as she sat, curled around her book. "Nothing, just this band being difficult."

She smiled sadly at me. "Oh, poor Libby. Do you have to organise something for them?"

"No! I just have to say when we're meeting them, but it'll be in six months, I don't know why they have to have such a warning."

"Probably so they can do a runner." She said simply, smiling and going back to her book.

I propped my chin on my hand and stared into the middle distance. My thoughts drifted to Rose and Charlie. They looked so cute together, really happy and like the real thing. Of course I couldn't be sure I'd ever seen 'the real thing' in action but I was pretty sure that that was what it looked like. The way they sat together and laughed, the way he smiled all the time when she was there. The way she smiled and looked away when I asked her about him.

But then Stella came along and ruined the whole thing. Ok, I will admit this, she was good at what she did. It's just that what she did wasn't really worth doing. She was an underwear, makeup and swimsuit model for God's sake. And that gave her no right to come along and rip the shit out of my friends. Making Rose feel she wasn't good enough for Charlie. Bitch alert much.

"I think we need to push Rose and Charlie together more." I said, slightly to myself.

Elisabeth looked up. "Hmm?"

I spun around to face her, the laptop forgotten. "Stella made her feel horrible about herself, and she _is_ coping but I can see that it hit a nerve. We're going to shove Rose and Charlie together again so that, for one thing, their love won't fester, and next, Stella will be furious."

Elisabeth frowned. "Right."

"I'm serious! We have to push them together or they'll have no chance of ever being happy!"

She smiled, her sister was playing matchmaker again. "You can't just push people together you silly."

"I can if it would help them!" I stood and started pacing, the plans already taking shape in my head. Elisabeth played her part of disbelieving reality sergeant.

"I don't doubt you can, but that doesn't make it a good thing! What if you mess things up?!"

I waved my hand impatiently. "I won't. I know exactly what I'm doing." I reached towards the phone, searching for Charlie's number in my head.

Elisabeth used her power to create a glass bowl out of thin air. This she upturned with telekinesis and placed over the phone, blocking my path. "Maybe you think you do. But don't do anything hasty. What's your plan?"

I spun around, delighted to have someone to plot with. "Well, you know Charlie is constantly saying that he needs someone honest to tell him if their new music is crappy…"

Elisabeth raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Mm hmm…"

I started waving my hands around to illustrate my point. "I could suggest to him that he invites Rose around while they're recording their new stuff. She's truthful enough to tell him what she likes and what she thinks needs changing."

Elisabeth stayed silent for a second. "Ok, that is actually a pretty non-crazy plan. A pleasant surprise there."

I was pacing again, too carried away to hear her last comment. "That way they'll have loads of time to get cosy right under Stella's nose!" I laughed manically and collapsed down next to her on the sofa. "It's perfect!"

She looked at me carefully. "Ok, is this about you wanting Rose to be happy or about pissing off Stella?"

I whirled to face her. "Both!" A second of thought and I felt kinda bad. "Ok, you're right; I do want to make Stella mad. But I want Rose to be happy too!"

I actually did, I loved Rose to bits and this seemed like the perfect plan. Rose could be with Charlie, making them both happy. And Stella would have to watch. It was just an added bonus.

Elisabeth sighed. "Libby, it's not going to help Rose if her boyfriend's sister doesn't like her. Have you even met this Stella?"

I started to sulk, like I always did when she was right. "No."

Always the sensible one, Elisabeth stayed calm. "Well, what did she say to Rose?"

I looked up, here was a time I was right. "I don't know exactly, but I know she made heavy accusations that she thought Rose wasn't good enough for Charlie."

Elisabeth's eyebrows shot up. "What?! Poor Rose!"

I sagged a bit, feeling horrible for Rose. She was one of my best friends and I knew that Elisabeth felt bad as well. Rose was like another sister to Elisabeth and they were really close.

"Yeah. And Rose really likes Charlie and he's mad about her. And you know that Rose is really self-conscious. She'll never go near him again if she feels inferior."

Elisabeth frowned. "Hmm, I'm not sure she'd avoid him. I don't know…"

I waved a hand. "You know what I mean. I just want them to talk it out. That way it'll be a clean break or a love flyaway." I kind of hoped they would be together regardless of what Stella thought. But if it was not to be, then it was not to be.

"You don't have to shove them together for that to happen!" Elisabeth looked slightly panicky now, like I was about to spontaneously combust.

"I know! But she wants this too!" I remembered a conversation we'd all had a while ago. "She told us she wanted to be a music critic. This is her chance!"

"What about their soulfinders?" Elisabeth brought out the magic card. "What happens then?"

I shrugged. "They haven't spoken in their minds, that I know. They could be soulfinders. Or they could never find theirs. Either way I want them to be happy and if they love each other then it won't matter whatever the outcome."

She sighed again. "Ok, just don't do anything crazy. I know you."

I jumped up and squealed. "Yay, thank you!"

She pulled the glass bowl away from the phone and I snatched it up to dial the number. "Now, you just sit and watch while my plans run."

Elisabeth groaned and fell back to the sofa.

I laughed before hearing a voice over the phone. "Hi Charlie! It's Liv here… I'm good, how are you?... Great, now I was thinking. You know how you always said you needed someone honest to critic you music?... Well, I was casting around in my mind, and I had an idea…."

* * *

**Good? Bad? Please tell me whether or not you like Elisabeth, it'll make her day.**

**Hey EBaby? Did I write you well? You could review too! Just type in a name to the thin box below and review underneath, IszyP and RoseM do it to tell me what they think of them and I would love it if you could. See you Monday!**

**The rest of you, see you possibly tomorrow but if not, next Saturday.**

**XXX**


	11. Such a Damn Sceptic

**Hi Guys!**

**So, I have given up on telling you when there will be a chapter up. Homework and school and YouTube and Buffy and now Firefly have all got in the way. So, I will do my best to get one up around the weekend, but I may not manage it, so I apologise in advance.**

**Just a mention. The songs that are mentioned by name, from Hand In Hand To Hell, are by All Time Low. I am not a music person so I cant write them. I have just blatantly stolen them. But take a look at the real ones, they are awesome.**

**Hope you like this one.**

* * *

"So what's your take on the oldies? You know, Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones and The Beatles?" Alex's pretentious yet gorgeous voice sounded again behind me as I finished off the last verse of a new song.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes Alex, I know who the oldies are."

He waited for my answer.

"I really like Bon Jovi. _It's My Life_ and _Livin' On a Prayer_ are my favourites."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really? I would have pegged you for a Beatles Girl."

A spatter of laughter broke the conversation. Charlie was talking to Rose on the sofa of Charlie's rented flat. While she was acting slightly awkward around him after the incident only known as SIOMB (Stella Is One Mega Bitch) she couldn't help laughing at one of his tragic but cute jokes.

I sighed and looked back at where Alex was sitting next to me for some inane reason. "I do like the Beatles. But only some of their songs, I find others a bit repetitive."

His jaw dropped. "_Repetitive?!_ Are you kidding? The Beatles revolutionaries the music industry. Look at the stuff you had before then, it's all drivel. They brought in so many new techniques and sounds, made it completely their own."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but they were just the One Direction of the 60's. And while they did write good songs, to me they all seem to blend into one."

Alex stared at me, stunned. "Are you _mad_?"

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the song sheet in front of me. "Hey, it's my opinion. If you have another one, go ahead and believe that. Don't hate me because I think differently to you." I thought for a second. "Actually, please do hate me. That way you might just leave me alone."

I stood, and walked away, over to the rest of the group. Alex stayed behind, staring t my back in a mixture of horror and fascination.

"What up?" I asked, trying not to look back at him.

Rose was still doubled up in laughter so Charlie had to answer. "Not much, just one of my awesome Englishman Scotsman Irishmen jokes."

Rose came up for air, tears streaming down her face. "It was terrible."

Charlie looked offended, "It was the best."

I smiled at them and slumped down next to Liv. She turned and smiled at me, "You ok?"

I sighed and pushed my hair out of my eyes. "Yeah, just Mr Pretentious wrecking my working vibe."

She frowned and looked sympathetic. "Oh, I'm sorry. If it's any help he looks like a panther snorted on his head from here."

I twisted to her position and looked over at Alex. The light had caught his hair, making him look like he'd been painted by Michael Angelo. I smiled. Liv was just being nice to try and cheer me up.

"He looks amazing." I said simply.

Liv dropped the act. "I know right? I was just trying to help but God, am I drooling?"

I laughed. "No, you're not."

She sighed, relieved and we both glanced back at him.

"Too bad he's an arrogant asshole, hey Liv?" I sighed and checked over the last verse again.

She nodded and went back to her phone, hurriedly fixing dates for shows and things. "Yup, but while love is not in the department for you two, I may have been a genius with Charlie and Rose"

I looked over at the two. Charlie was leaning in towards Rose, the light of happiness making him look like he was in heaven. Rose was talking, fiddling with the wrist bands covering her arms.

"They look so cute." I murmured.

Liv winked at me, smiling like she had a secret. I know that smile, "You've done something, haven't you?"

She raised an eyebrow and pointed at her chest. "Who me?"

I snorted with laughter and changed the subject. "Mag, can you look at this please?"

I handed him the paper and he checked it over. Rose and Nico read it over his shoulder, their smiles telling me what they thought before they said it.

"Iszy, this is amazing, I love it." Magnus looked slightly shell shocked.

I tried not to smile with pride. "Really? You're sure? It's doesn't need any tweaking, I'm still not sure if the last verse slows it down like it should."

Magnus was already shaking his head. "I love it. Don't change a thing, it's perfect just ending there. God, I wish I had your creative drive."

Charlie and Alex succumbed to the 'I'm in a band' interest and came over. "Can I see?" Charlie pointed at it.

I smiled and nodded, ready to show my work to almost anyone. I said almost.

Alex was reading it slowly with Charlie. He raised an eyebrow. "It sounds a bit fluffy, are you sure a fast beat would work for it?"

I clenched my fists. "It's a slow song Alex. I do know what I'm doing. I am in a band too remember."

He smirked. "My apologies Miss Brit Award."

I jumped to my feet, snatching the sheet of paper from Charlie's hand and flounced over to the weather beaten piano in the corner of the room.

Settling myself on the stool, I placed the paper on the rack and played the chord I wanted. The others gathered around, Alex taking pride of place on the sceptical side.

I played the opening chord and slipped into song.

_No I can't take one more step towards you,_

_Cause all that's waiting is regret._

_Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore,_

_You lost the love I loved the most._

_I've learned to live, half a life,_

_And now you want me one more time._

I let the piano grow in sound and started swaying with the music.

_And who do you think you are, _

_Running round leaving stars,_

_Collecting your jar of hearts,_

_And tearing love apart._

_You're gonna catch a cold,_

_From the ice inside your soul,_

_So don't come back for me,_

_Don't come back at all._

From the corner of my eye I saw Magnus share a fist bump with Nico and an approving nod with Liv. This was going to be a hit.

* * *

**Jar of Hearts, by Christina Perri**

**See you soon!**

**XX**


End file.
